We look back at the great holiday movie classic ‘Home Alone 1’ starring young Macaulay Culkin as plucky, adorable and inventive Kevin McCallister. Who could ever forget the harrowing story of an eight-year-old boy, who is accidentally left behind when his family leaves on vacation. Young Kevin must use his wits and considerable toy collection to set up inventive booby traps which foil two dangerous but goofy burglars intent upon gaining entry. If they had to leave one kid behind, it was fortunate that they left this ingenious little tyke.
Onion film critic Peter K. Rosenthal takes great issue with the young boy’s careless family. According to Rosenthal,
the movie could have ended in twenty minutes or less, if the boy’s parents had been responsible.In fact, if they had been more responsible, even the dimmest kid could have survived well in the same situation. By responsible, we don’t mean better at counting noses before setting off for the airport. We do mean every child in the home would be armed, and skilled in the use of firearms. No need to set booby traps when there is an automatic weapon in every nook and cranny of your home!
Family outings for the posh McCallister clan should include weekly trips to the gun range to ensure quick response time and accuracy. That’s just good parenting, according to Rosenthal and the NRA. While the film would have lacked all of the suspense and goofiness of the original, didn’t the writers and producers owe it to the audience to model practical home safety? The family obviously lives in a posh part of town, they are glaringly white, and the laws are on their side. There is nothing stopping them from shooting someone who might be thinking of burglarizing their home, much less gaining entry. Silly rich people!